Women in management: reflections and projections

Abstract

Purpose -A major barrier to women's progress in management worldwide continues to be the gender stereotyping of the managerial position. The purpose of the paper is to examine how this "think manager -think male" attitude has changed over the three decades since the author's initial research and to consider the implications of the outcomes for women's advancement in management today. Design/methodology/approach -The paper reviews the author's research, first conducted in the 1970s and replicated in the USA and internationally, on gender stereotyping and requisite management characteristics. Findings -The overview reveals the strength and inflexibility of the "think manager -think male" attitude held by males across time and national borders. Over the last three decades corporate males in the USA continue to see women as less qualified than men for managerial positions. Internationally, the view of women as less likely than men to possess requisite management characteristics is also a commonly held belief among male management students in the USA, the UK, Germany, China and Japan. Practical implications -Women's continued progress depends on recognizing the intractable nature of these negative attitudes and continually seeking ways to ensure that these attitudes do not derail their success. The need to maintain and expand legal efforts is discussed. An argument is also made for challenging the "corporate convenient" way of working and restructuring managerial work to facilitate a work and family interface. Originality/value -Based upon three decades of research, the paper highlights the importance of maintaining and increasing efforts to ensure that women advance to positions of power and influence in organizations worldwide.

Stories of women at the top: narratives and counternarratives of women’s (non-)representation in executive leadership

“…Men have made the rules (Looman, 2011) and "maleness" is inherent to management (Schein, 2007;McInerney-Lacombe et al, 2008;. Women must and can do their best to fit in: a plethora of guidebooks and "cheery instruction manual(s) for how to navigate modern patriarchy" (Penny, 2014: 1) suggest that a woman's way to the top is through individual effort and smart play (Frankel, 2005;Knaths, 2009;Schneider, 2011;Edelburg 2012;Och and Daniels 2013).…”

“…Banyard (2011: 8) claims that indeed "at some point in human history the concept of female inferiority was woven into the very fabric of how we see ourselves, how we treat each other, and how we organise society." Virginia Schein, work-and organizational psychologist, has confirmed managerial sex typing as a major psychological barrier to the advancement of women ("think manager-think male") and a global phenomenon (Schein, 1973(Schein, , 1975(Schein, , 2001(Schein, , 2007. Recent studies confirmed that women still struggle to break through the "glass ceiling"-a term coined in the 1980s-because of their difficulty in fitting into the prevailing male culture, and as a result are being treated as a minority group (Kaufman, 2008: 8).…”

“…94% of male leaders who responded were convinced that these qualities don't bring any benefit to an organization (Bierach and Thorborg, 2006: 12). Schein (2007) found that 20 years after her original research a large majority of British men still insisted that women do not have what it takes to be a successful manager. The research also revealed that leaders should be tough and decisive; the image of a male hero leading his men to victory is supported by a plethora of metaphors from the sporting and military arenas.…”

Introducing the Feminist Management Discourse in Organizations

“…According to Broadbrige and Hearn (2008:44), there still is a masculine gendering of management in most organizations. Moreover, Schein (2007) concludes that the strength and flexibility of the "think manager-think male" attitudes held by men in her study are very persistent across time and national boarder.…”

Online Research for the Impact of ICTs on Greek Women's Employability and Entrepreneurship

“…Schein (2007) in an overview of women in management worldwide states that the persistent stereotype that associates management with being male is the most important hurdle for women in management in all industrialised countries.…”